There are many things that can cause water to back up out of your floor drain. Usually, it means that the drain under the floor of your basement sink is full of water. That can mean that a rainstorm has overloaded the drain system or even the public sewer system. A clog in the main line can be in the house’s drain, trap, or sewer.
Most washing machines share a drain with a sink, which could be the kitchen sink if the laundry room is close to the kitchen. If the sink fills up when the washing machine is draining, something is either stopping water from flowing or air from getting in, or both.
What makes the sink in the basement back up?
When your sink gurgles or the water comes back after it drains, your basement sink is backing up. Before you can fix the problem, you need to figure out why the water in the basement sink keeps coming back up.
There could be problems with how the plumbing lines connect or how the vent is set up.
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Plumbing Connections for the Sink
The sink isn’t the only thing in your basement sink that needs water.
If there is too much water in the shared pipes, a sink will back up. You might have a bathroom in the basement sink with a toilet, tub, and sink that are all connected by plumbing. While draining, a washing machine might back up in a laundry room.
If the sink is the lowest fixture in the basement, water can back up and cause it to flood. In that case, it would be easier for sewage water to leak out and pool in the sink.
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Ventilation System Layout
Another reason is the distance between the toilet and the stack vent. A separate vent must be installed if the toilet is more than 10 feet away from the stack. If you want to prevent the problem, you should connect the vent and sink drain in a straight line. When you think about the facts, you can solve the problem on your own.
What to do when the sink in the basement sink backs up?
There are a few ways to fix a basement sink that is clogged. You can decide what to do based on how bad the water backflow is and where it is coming from.
Before you go any further, remember that you should never use chemicals to unclog the drain. If you do that, the pipes might break. If you do, the expense of the damage will be greater in the long run.
Find out how to solve the problem in the two situations below.
1. Sink Plumbing
If the only thing in the house was the sink, the plumbing would be easy. The drain would go from the P-trap to a tee in a straight line. The drain would be vented through the roof by a pipe running up from the tee and into the sewer. But when several fixtures are close together, they tend to share drain and vent pipes, which can make things harder. The sink drain may go into a larger waste line that leads to the toilet. Other fixtures, like the tub or shower, may also be connected to that line.
2. Wet Venting
Most of the time, plumbers put toilets near the main soil stack so they can be vented through the stack vent. However, this isn’t always possible. If the toilet is more than 10 feet away from the stack, it needs a separate vent. A sink drain is often a good choice. The drain can act as a wet vent for the toilet if the sink drain or its vent are linked in a straight line. This, however, means that if there is a clog in the pipe below the sink, water can come back up through the sink.
3. Trying to find the blockage
If you pay attention to which fixtures cause the sink to back up when they drain, you will get a good idea of how the sink is connected to the plumbing. They can also back up when other drains are being used. It’s possible that the washing machine lint is clogging a common fitting between the sink and the washing machine, causing the sink to back up whenever the machine is running. If this is the case, both the washing machine and the sink may be clogged.
4. Getting rid of the blockage
If you think the toilet line is clogged, try plunging the toilet. Before you do this, make sure the sink stopper is closed and the overflow holes are blocked. If the plunger doesn’t work, you may have to locate a waste line cleanout and insert an auger. If you establish that the backup is caused by the washing machine, fill the sink with water before plunging it. That might push the clog out of the joint where the sink and washer connect. If you need to manually clear the fitting, follow the drainage from the washing machine.
What if I have a utility sink that I want to drain to the basement floor?
The plumbing system isn’t complete without a basement drain. An ejector pump or a sump pit can be connected to the drain to remove water from a basement. The drain of the utility sink must be hooked up. With the right placement, you can get water out of the basement quickly.
The drain on a utility sink should go to the sewer system. If the sink is connected to the floor drain, the smell in the basement will be less bad. It’s important to keep the trap dry and the plug-out in place.
On the other hand, the connection can also cause backflow. Because of the clog, the sewage water has to come up through the drain. Install a backflow valve to stop the water from going backwards.
How to Unclog a Basement Drain is a post that goes along with this one.
If your basement doesn’t have floor drains, you can try one of the following:
- Put a water pump above the floor in the basement. It’s enough to get the water out of the pipes under the sink.
- Add drain lines to the outside under the floor. If you have a walkout basement, you can use this method, but you need to take out a part of the wall. Check the route to see if the drain leads to a sewer line. If not, you can’t make this choice.
- An ejector pump can be added to a sump pump. Choose this method if your bathroom is in the basement.
In Closing
A clogged basement sink is a big deal. The water might originate from the washing machine or other basement appliances with common plumbing connections. If trash and other things get stuck in the pipes, a lot of water can back up into the sink.
You need to add vents to the sink so that water doesn’t leak into the basement and stink up the place. Also, connecting the sink drain to the floor drain in the basement will help. If you don’t let water back up in your sink, your basement sink will stay dry and usable.
